Washington's Chris Lawson, right, catches a pass against Nebraska's Andrew Marshall during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Lincoln, Neb. (Rebecca S. Gratz / Associated Press)
Chris Lawson's 25-yard touchdown with 1:30 left to play, and a pick-six from Alex McLaughlin helped the Washington Huskies stun the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a 17-10 victory on Saturday night.
Trailing 7-3 with 4:29 left to play, Demond Williams Jr. led a go-ahead scoring drive for the Huskies as Lawson converted a third-and-4, fourth-and-18 before his touchdown catch gave Washington the lead.
McLaughlin stepped in front of Anthony Colandrea's pass to Luke Lindenmeyer and returned the interception 48 yards for a score as Washington turned a four-point deficit into a 10-point lead in quick succession. It was one of three interceptions of Colandrea on the night by Washington's defense.
John Holl converted a 42-yard field goal with 31 seconds remaining to trim the lead to one score, 17-10, but Lawson recovered Nebraska's ensuing onside kick to seal the win for Washington. Lawson had 12 receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown to lead the Huskies.
The backstory:
With center Landen Hatchett out for the season, the Huskies' offense couldn't get anything going against Nebraska's defense most of the night. Washington was held to just 32 rushing yards on the night, putting the production of the offense squarely on the quarterback position.
Elijah Brown – making his second straight start – threw for just 136 yards on 30 attempts, completing 19 passes before being pulled in the fourth quarter. Williams replaced Brown with 10 minutes left to play as the Huskies looked to spark something offensively.
Nebraska's Kyle Cunanan missed a 36-yard field goal try wide right to keep the lead at just four with 10:01 remaining.
The Huskies' offense stalled just past midfield as Washington elected to punt and play defense with six minutes remaining. A three-and-out from the Washington defense forced a punt as a targeting penalty against McLaughlin was overturned on review to force Nebraska to punt.
Williams scrambled for 17 yards and a first down on third-and-15 that kept UW's final drive alive. A third down completion to Chris Lawson for 22 yards moved Washington across midfield, but Williams took a pair of sacks as Nebraska's defense nearly shut the door. On fourth-and-18, Lawson made a tremendous catch on the sidelines, falling out of bounds and maintaining possession, for a stunning 24-yard conversion to give the Huskies life.
Two plays later, Williams and Lawson connected again for the go-ahead score as Lawson dove into the end zone after a 25-yard catch-and-run.
McLaughlin’s interception came on the second play of Nebraska's following drive, just 15 seconds of game time after Lawson's touchdown to give the Huskies a cushion.
The Huskers went for the field goal once they got in range to try and give themselves one last offensive chance without burning more clock, but Lawson's onside kick recovery shut the door on Nebraska.
Williams was 7-of-13 for 99 yards and a touchdown with four rushes for 28 yards as well, which led UW's rushing attack.
Dig deeper:
Rylon Dillard-Allen intercepted Colandrea on Nebraska's opening possession, and Emmanuel Karnley picked him off on the Huskers' second drive of the night.
It set the tone for a strong defensive performance from the Washington defense. Nebraska did manage to put up 387 yards of offense, but couldn't turn that production into points as the three turnovers proved costly.
Colandrea completed 24-of-44 passes for 255 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Huskers. A 24-yard touchdown pass from Colandrea to Carter Nelson gave Nebraska a 7-0 lead with 1:40 left in the opening quarter.
Tyler Robles converted a 50-yard field goal with 41 seconds left in the first half that allowed the Huskies to cut the lead to 7-3.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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